


once from the cherry tree

by MedicalAssisstanceSpareChange



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High
Genre: Bi Crisis, Bisexual Gorgug Thistlespring, Coming Out, Gorgug is trying so hard, M/M, Ragh is the best and I love him, but honestly he deserves this so i gave it to him anyways, in that weird period where gorgug and zelda are like half-broken up, listen I love zelda but she's making things difficult here, should gorgug do this? he is dating zelda sort of after all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28587276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedicalAssisstanceSpareChange/pseuds/MedicalAssisstanceSpareChange
Summary: Gorgug isn't smart, but he knows this: he really misses kissing, and he's pretty sure Zelda just broke up with him, in addition to being a whole country away.Ragh, however, is just over the blankets, and Gorgug has a decision to make.
Relationships: Ragh Barkrock/Gorgug Thistlespring
Comments: 5
Kudos: 89





	once from the cherry tree

**Author's Note:**

> I'm only halfway through Heartache on the Celestine Sea, so this is absolutely not canon-compliant as well as probably contradicting future canon. And I do like the Zelda-Gorgug pairing, and I do like Zelda on her own! However, I love Ragh with my entire being, and Gorgug deserves someone who can help him learn to communicate without making him feel awful, so - here this is. 
> 
> Also, yes, I know Zelda and Gorgug didn't kiss *before* the Nightmare Forest adventure began, but I'm saying for this fic that they did.
> 
> Title from Hozier's "Work Song" because I am basic like that.

Gorgug knows he isn’t smart. 

Listen, his friends can - they can say otherwise all they want. Gorgug, compared to a lot of people, just isn’t smart. He forgets things, and he makes bad connections between thoughts and facts, and a lot of times he tries to do something other than hitting in fights and it doesn’t really work out. So he’s not smart. That’s okay. He’s intuitive, he’s pretty sure. He managed to get the Hangvan halfway-modded without any help, and he knows when he screws up, and he gets by.

This, though, this problem should be simple and it's not.  


The problem is kissing. The problem is that he’s had exactly four kisses in his life, all varying degrees of wanted. The problem is that Gorgug knows he really likes kissing and his friends won’t shut up about it and he misses doing it a lot. The problem is, who does he want to kiss?

Definitely not Kristen. She’d tasted like vodka and that hadn’t been great, plus she was a lesbian, and Tracker could definitely ruin his life if he was stupid enough to go after Kristen. And Gorgug isn’t smart, but he isn’t stupid enough to try and kiss Kristen in a sober, let alone semi-romantic, setting.

Zelda’s dad is just a no. Gorgug would actually prefer to never go near Zelda’s family again unless it’s in the context of being Zelda’s boyfriend, which… doesn’t seem likely anymore.

Zelda had been a good kiss. He misses kissing Zelda. She’d understood him in a different way from others, and she’d been quiet and she had  _ such _ cool music on her playlists. Gorgug knows he could probably get back with her, if he worked hard enough, but he doesn't think it would stick. And he likes Zelda too much to want to make her sad, and he doesn’t want to be sad either. He just wants to kiss someone.

Which leaves Ragh, out of his previous kissing experiences. And this is the conclusion he’d sort of hoped he wouldn’t arrive at, but here he is.

The problem is this. Ragh had been the first kiss he’d wanted to have. Not because he’d been dating Ragh, or particularly liked him at the time, but because the guy was scared and sad and Gorgug wanted him to be happy. Gorgug also wanted him to help them fight the dragon that had taken over the prom hall, but he’d wanted Ragh to get something he wanted for once, no strings attached. So he’d kissed Ragh, of his own free will, and it had been soft, and it had been sweet, and it had worked.

The problem is this. The problem is that Ragh likes boys and Gorgug isn’t sure if he does. He’s never put a lot of thought into it - he didn’t even have friends, why would he think about romance? - but now, now he’s not sure. And he’s not smart, but he’s pretty sure he might like boys, because when he thinks about who he could kiss on somewhat short notice, Ragh is definitely an option he doesn’t mind. Because Ragh likes boys, and Gorgug is a boy, and Gorgug is curious enough about boys to try kissing another.

And the problem is that Ragh is just a pile of blankets away and Gorgug’s heart hurts and he’s very, very scared about what this all means if he  _ does _ kiss Ragh, because he’s not quite smart enough to figure it out.

But he’s not so stupid as to think it could only be bad.

Ragh’s not asleep. He’s on his crystal, Gorgug sees, playing Fantasy Candy Crush or something like that, and he’s facing away from where Gorgug’s peeking over at him. His brightness is up super high, and it makes Gorgug squint as he whispers, “Hey, Ragh?”

Ragh rolls over in less than half a second, ready to fight, but he relaxes into a big grin when he sees Gorgug. “Hey, man! How you doin, what’s up, what’s keepin’ you up?”

“Um.” Gorgug chews at his lip for a moment. “Um, you remember Zelda? I, uh, I tried to call her today, and, and, yeah?”

Ragh nods. “For sure, dude, yeah. She was all upset about something and didn’t pick up, right? Not cool of her, bro, I don’t know what she’s mad about but you know, you know I’ll tell her off if you want me to, right? We’re Owlbears, man, I’ll do anything for you. Hoot, growl, all the way, dude, anytime.” 

He looks so intense as he talks about threatening Zelda and it’s the last thing Gorgug wants him to do but it’s also… kind of adorable? It’s nice to know he’d do that for him. Yeah. But he shakes his head and says, “No, uh, not that. I mean, yes, that, she, uh… kind of broke up with me today? But it’s not official. But. Um.” 

Ragh’s eyes are so, so wide in the darkness, totally locked on Gorgug’s face. The younger half-orc feels something in him crumple, and he murmurs, “Can I just… fuck, this sounds weird, but can I… cuddle… with you?” Asking for a kiss is a process. This is step one, he's pretty sure.  


A lifetime of rejection and anxiety threatens to shut his walls before Ragh can even respond, but Ragh is immediately scooting over, patting down the blankets to spread them out more. “Absolutely, dude, anytime, you know that? You ever need anything, man, I’m there, right away. We’re in this together, bro, together till the end - wait, let me get you a pillow - and, yeah, yeah, I fuckin love you, dude, I’ll absolutely cuddle with you if you need it.”

“Thanks,” Gorgug whispers, feeling particularly clumsy and lanky as he crawls over the pillows and blankets to settle in to the space Ragh’s made for him. He curls up, facing Ragh, not quite sure what to do with his body other than try and take up as little space as possible. Ragh settles down, too, and then it’s just silent for a bit. Ragh’s clearly still watching him, waiting for him to talk, and part of Gorgug is tempted to take the coward’s way out and just fall asleep, but he knows he should talk.

He’s already talked to Sandralynn and the Hangvan about Zelda; he needs to talk to Ragh about Ragh.

A great sigh heaves through him as he tries to figure out what to say. The problem is that prom’s a touchy subject for both of them, because Dayne and Kalvaxis and the whole dying-a-lot thing and honestly, he's tired of thinking about it. Gorgug’s not sure where else to start, though, because he’s not smart enough to think of something else to start with besides “how did you know you like boys” and that is absolutely not a can of worms he’s opening with Ragh. Not Ragh, who went through so much hatred and abuse. He’s not doing that under any circumstances except Ragh’s.

So he starts with prom. “You remember prom, right?”

“Of course, dude.” The crystal is off, but there’s just enough light for Gorgug to see Ragh smile a bit. “You kissed me.”

It’s a shy smile and it, combined with the statement, startles Gorgug. “Uh. Yeah. Right. Um, about that -”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it -”

“Can I do it again?”

He squeezes his eyes shut as his heart starts thumping triple-time in anxiety. Ragh’s into boys, yeah, but is he into Gorgug enough to kiss him? They’re on such a dangerous adventure, shouldn’t Gorgug be focused on more important things, like resting so they don’t all die in the next fight? What if Ragh has a partner? What if -

“Hey.” There’s a hand on his wrist, broad and warm and gentle. “Bro, I would fucking love to kiss you.”

“Really?” Gorgug opens one eye, squeezing his hands into fists. 

“Really. You remember that three-way Owlbear MVP makeout session I thought you and Fabian wanted? You’re both hot. I’m  _ so _ down to kiss either of you, man, you don’t even know.”

Ragh’s so open now. Terrified as he was for his mother earlier, he’s - he’s so open, so earnest, that it scares Gorgug even as it stabilizes his emotions. Because now, the problem is that he doesn’t want to break Ragh’s heart, because he’s still not sure what he’ll be himself at the end of this.

“Um.” Both eyes are open now. He’s looking at Ragh’s lips. “Is right now okay?”

“Yeah,” Ragh whispers, and the hand on Gorgug’s arm shifts up to cup his cheek, and Ragh shifts his head forwards onto Gorgug’s pillow to kiss him.

Like when he crumpled earlier, Gorgug just melts into it. The older boy is so strong and sure of himself now, so considerate; he responds to Gorgug, keeps the kiss going but doesn’t push, and his hand is so nice on his cheek. Their half-grown tusks click together softly as Gorgug moves into it more, reaching up his own hand to hold Ragh’s against his face. He can feel Ragh smile into the kiss, can feel both of them moving closer to each other, unconscious movements that are just responses to simple attraction between two consenting boys.

Attraction. 

Yeah, Gorgug’s into this. Gorgug’s not the best at kissing, but Ragh’s gotten super good, and he knows he wants to keep kissing him. Not because he wants to misses kissing - he wants to kiss  _ Ragh _ specifically.

Gorgug definitely likes Ragh. Maybe not all boys, but Ragh for sure. 

He huffs in surprise as Ragh bodily shifts them both to wrap his arms around Gorgug’s waist. They’re pressed chest-to-chest now, with Gorgug’s lankiness completely engulfed by Ragh’s sheer mass, and it feels great. He’s always been too big, too much, too angry; Ragh can hold him easily, won’t break like his bed or barely reach his chest like his parents and Ragh is the most forgiving guy he knows, he won’t get too mad over a missed goodbye when his friends go missing, the way Zelda did.

Oh god, Zelda. He’s not sure if they’re actually broken up yet, and he’s here making out with another guy. He knows that’s a dick move.

But he also really needed to figure this out, he realizes, because as he breaks away to gasp for air he realizes that there’s a huge weight on his chest that’s totally disappeared, and he didn’t even know it was there. He wonders if this is what Ragh felt like, when Gorgug kissed him at prom. Weightless, and terrified, but also so, so happy.

He really likes Zelda, but he really,  _ really _ likes Ragh.

“I think I like boys, too,” he says, half-laughing and half-disbelieving, and Ragh grins.

“Fuck yeah, dude! What’re you thinking, gay? Bi? Pan? Something else?”

“I dunno.” He’s not sure what those last two quite mean, but he suspects they’re a better fit than gay, because he still really likes Zelda. “I, um, I kinda just figured this out…”

“Of course, bro, no rush, no worries! Labels are for your own comfort, not for others to use to classify you in some box in their heads. It’s something you choose when and if you feel like it.” Ragh squeezes him a bit, plants a kiss to his cheek that feels like a mix between friends and romance. “I’m glad I got to help you, man, you did me such a huge favor back at prom and now I got to pay it back.”

Prom. Ragh. Maidens. Zelda. Fuck, if he broke Zelda’s heart with this, the Maidens are going to kill him themselves, then revivify him for Zelda and her family. But that’s… that’s probably not going to happen, he realizes. He’s not often smart, but he sees now that he and Zelda weren’t quite going to work out as they were. Zelda probably knew it, too; she’s smarter than he is. Maybe in the future, if they’d toughed it out, they could have become compatible enough to fall all the way in love. For now, though, he understands that they were both too bad at communication, both too quiet, both too confused and angry to make it work.

Zelda is and always will be wonderful, but she’s small and closed-off and bitter, sometimes, in a way that takes Gorgug by surprise. Ragh’s the opposite; big and open-hearted and so, so willing to try. 

Gorgug isn’t smart, but he knows where to go with this problem, now.

“I gotta talk to Zelda tomorrow,” he tells Ragh. He can feel their breath mingling in the couple inches of space between their faces. “But, um, can… we should talk. Us. After that, and once things calm down a little bit, and once, once I get myself all sorted out about this.”

“Sounds good, Gorgug,” Ragh says. And, “You still wanna cuddle?”

Gorgug thinks for a moment, where he’s wrapped up in Ragh’s arms. He’s literally never been held like this before, note even by his parents, and it’s nice. “Yeah,” he whispers. “Please?”

“Of course,” Ragh says, and Gorgug tentatively stretches out his legs into something comfortable, pressed up against Ragh, and the two of them fall asleep in the blanket pile.


End file.
